Libby, Montana, is a uniquely located town in northwestern Montana where the Cabinet Mountains meet the Kootenai River. Surrounded by the public lands of the Kootenai National Forest, Libby offers pristine lakes, rivers and mountain trails unencumbered by the crowds of people you would encounter anywhere else in the lower 48 states.

May 7,2018

For the past month things have been changing around City Hall. The Council Chambers were turned around and is now facing in the opposite direction. This is a better fit for people attending the meetings. Those coming late or leaving early do not have to walk past the Council to do so. Another nice change is the solid wall behind the Council. In the future, we hope to have a mural painted on it. This is much better looking than the doors, and a window behind the Council.

The landscaping around City Hall has been changed as well. The Tree Board looked at the trees and marked the ones they recommended being removed. Some trees were showing signs of disease with the bark peeling off and dead limbs, while others were planted too close to the building and could cause future problems.

Junipers were removed from around the building and replaced with wash rock and mulch. The junipers were over grown in the back of the building and were broken down from snow shoveled off the roof in the winter of 2017. These types of shrubs are also a fire hazard and could catch fire from someone smoking near the building.

Other improvements were made to the front office/reception area. The old counter was removed, and a wall put in place with a window for the customers. Along with the new security cameras, this wall will help make the office a safer environment for the workers.

A new rain gutter and facia was added to the back of the building. This area was always a hazard in the winter with water falling from the roof on to the sidewalk and freezing. Ice would build up so thick the area would have to be cordoned off from the public.

Later, this spring/summer we plan on replacing the siding that is warped. Once this is done a fresh coat of stain will be applied to the upper section of the building. This work is being done by city crews and the only cost to these projects is for materials.

Tree Removal

On April 26, the City had TCI remove the large trees near the Police Station on Mineral Ave. There was a lot of interest as to why the City removed the trees, mainly because of their visibility in the center of town. I am sure everyone remembers the large fir tree that was part of this group of trees that blew over in a wind storm and landed on the back of the Fire Department. The tree caused damage to the roof but the outcome could have been far worse.

The insurance adjuster who investigated the incident said the rest of the trees had the potential of falling and could be a serious liability to the city. From the street and sidewalk, they just looked like ordinary large trees. But standing underneath them and looking up, they were leaning in all directions.

At that time, I discussed the removal of the trees with the city crew, but they were not confident enough to be able to remove the trees safely. As time passed, this winter with the heavy snow a lot of large tree branches came down. One landed on a car in the street that the city had to file a claim on. This brought me back to the issue of the large trees at the police station.

I contacted Tim Schertal, but he was to busy. Tom Horelick was recovering from a knee injury so I spoke with Levi Thompson from TCI and they said they could do it. The trees were safely removed. Now we plan on replacing the trees in the future with something more suitable for the area and will not get so large it becomes a liability in the future.

Departments

Around City Hall, the crews have really been busy with the land scaping. They should have most of this work, inside and out, finished soon. They will be moving on to more alley maintenance, and other projects. One being the new guard rail to be install on City Service road leading into Riverfront Park.

The sewer main on Nevada will be another project once issues of storm drains and water line elevations are worked out. We are waiting on this information so plans can be submitted to DEQ for review. Once DEQ finalizes the plan we can start work.

The Waste Water Plant and Water Treatment Plant are still running smoothly. This is a tricky time of year for both operations. Turbidity issues at WTP and the ground water infiltration at the WWTP. So far both have been minimal, and we hope this will continue.